Qi Xiao raised his eyebrows: "What's the matter?"

Jiang Deqing wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a low voice: "It's about what happened during lunch earlier..."

"Because the Emperor is in poor health, the imperial meals are now served in Chengqian Palace. If the consorts from various palaces have any intentions, they also send food to Chengqian Palace. Earlier during lunch, Yonghua Palace, Linzhi Palace, and Yongshou Palace all sent some dishes over." Jiang Deqing paused for a moment, then said softly, "Who would have thought that something went wrong with these dishes."

Bairen was overjoyed: "Did the Emperor eat it?!"

Qi Xiao couldn't help but laugh. He hugged Bairen from behind, lowered his head to kiss his cheek, and chuckled: "How could it be that easy? Do you think he's a fool?"

In front of others, Bairen was very embarrassed. He quickly tried to dodge to the side, but Qi Xiao refused to let go of him. He held him and laughed: "Eunuch, please continue."

Jiang Deqing also laughed, lowered his eyes and said softly: "To reply to Your Highness, he did not... Today in Chengqian Palace, the Empress, Consort Xue, and the Third Prince were dining with the Emperor. The Third Prince is extremely filial. Knowing that the Emperor's throat is uncomfortable and he can't eat hot dishes or rice, the Third Prince tastes every dish first. Only when he feels it has cooled down does he let the palace servants present it to the Emperor.

"It's always like this, but who knew that today something went wrong. Halfway through the meal, the Third Prince suddenly started bleeding from his nose, felt dizzy and nauseous, then vomited incessantly, and subsequently fainted. Everyone in the hall was scared half to death, especially Consort Xue, who almost fainted along with him. It was only when the old nanny pinched her acupoint hard that she was revived.

"When Consort Xue woke up, she lost all sense of decorum, her hair was loose and her makeup was smeared. She hugged the Third Prince and wept uncontrollably. Soon the imperial physicians arrived. After examining him, they said he had accidentally eaten something he shouldn't have."

Qi Xiao smiled faintly. Now this was getting interesting. It wasn't poisoning, but "accidental ingestion".

Bairen frowned: "What does that mean?"

"The imperial physicians did indeed say that at first, but Consort Xue wouldn't listen. She insisted that someone must have poisoned him and immediately ordered the imperial physicians to test for poison. Empress Feng was quite impatient and made a few sarcastic remarks, implying that Consort Xue was making a big fuss over nothing. Naturally, everyone still had to see what the Emperor's intentions were."

Jiang Deqing smiled lightly and said, "After the Emperor calmed down, he first ordered someone to take the Third Prince away for proper treatment. Then he sent someone to summon the two imperial physicians he trusted the most and who were very tight-lipped. Next, he dismissed all the idle personnel from the hall, leaving only Empress Feng, Consort Xue, and Fu Hailu.

The few of them watched as the two imperial physicians carefully examined the dishes. The two imperial physicians were very cautious and took nearly half an hour to determine that a bowl of tremella soup had gone wrong."

"Because no poisons like arsenic were used, the silver chopsticks didn't detect anything. The imperial physicians had to repeatedly taste it to be sure. The tremella in the soup was real, but the broth was made by stewing old ginseng soup with more than a dozen extremely hot medicinal ingredients.

"Not to mention that many of the ingredients were incompatible with each other, just that thick bowl of old ginseng soup alone would be unbearable for someone who couldn't handle tonics. The Third Prince only tasted a little and ended up in that state, which shows how potent it was. And most importantly... if the Emperor, who suffers from heat syndrome, had really drunk this soup, then..."

Bairen shook his head regretfully: "He probably would have lost half his life even if he didn't die..."

Qi Xiao also felt a little regret in his heart, but when he heard this, he couldn't help laughing again: "Listen properly to what the eunuch is saying, why do you keep teasing me?!"

Bairen frowned and muttered: "When did I tease Your Highness..."

Jiang Deqing also couldn't help laughing. He continued with a smile: "That's not the most important part. The critical thing is... this bowl of tremella and lotus seed soup was personally made by Consort Xue."

Bairen was stunned. Qi Xiao raised his eyebrows: "And then?"

"Then naturally Consort Xue didn't believe it. But the evidence was conclusive, and she couldn't claim to be wronged. Empress Feng immediately ordered someone to arrest Consort Xue. Consort Xue of course wouldn't accept it and loudly proclaimed her innocence, saying if she had done it herself, why would she put it in the soup she made?

"And she clearly knew that the Third Prince would taste it for the Emperor first. No matter what, she wouldn't go so far as to harm her own son. But Empress Feng insisted on pinning it on her. For a while, the hall was in chaos. Fu Hailu looked back at the Emperor and saw him sitting motionless on the couch. After a long time, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and fell straight back."

Bairen became happy again: "Then what? Could he be saved?"

Qi Xiao laughed so hard his stomach hurt. Jiang Deqing nodded with a smile: "With two imperial physicians attending, naturally he could be saved. After being revived, the Emperor, with a pale face, sternly ordered everyone present to keep their mouths shut.

"He immediately summoned Prince Ming from the Imperial Clan Court. The case was simple, and it was solved in just half an hour... It really wasn't Consort Xue who poisoned it. There was still some tremella and lotus seed soup left in the small kitchen of Yonghua Palace, and it was all fine. Prince Ming took the maid from Consort Xue's small kitchen. Before he could even torture her, she confessed."

"The maid said she had taken money from the Second Prince. This matter was originally instigated by the Second Prince. After Prince Ming requested an edict, he also searched the Second Prince's Zhaoyang Palace. When checking the items in the treasury, it was discovered that a hundred-year-old ginseng that had already taken shape was indeed missing.

"When asked where that ginseng went, the Second Prince couldn't say. When asked if the Second Prince knew that maid, the Second Prince's words were ambiguous. When asked if he was the one who poisoned it, the Second Prince immediately flew into a rage, loudly crying injustice, as if he had just found out. The Prince Ming ordered someone to bring the maid to confront the Second Prince, but unexpectedly, after the maid came up and kowtowed to the Second Prince, she turned around and smashed her head against a pillar... and died."

Qi Xiao turned to look at Bairen. Their eyes met, and they understood everything.

Bairen said in a low voice: "What did the Emperor say? Did he sentence the Second Prince?"

Qi Xiao sneered: "How could that be possible."

Jiang Deqing bowed: "Your Highness is perceptive. The Emperor indeed did not punish the Second Prince. He only placed him under house arrest in his own palace and ordered everyone to keep their mouths tightly shut. Afterwards, Consort Xue made a huge fuss, demanding the Emperor give her son justice. But who knew... the Emperor only looked deeply at Consort Xue and said nothing."

Qi Xiao smiled faintly: "What about now? Is Qi Qi alright?"

Jiang Deqing nodded: "They boiled mung bean soup and force-fed him in turns. They fed him, he vomited, then they fed him again. Although he was tormented until he didn't look human, he's fine now."

Qi Xiao nodded: "That's good then. Tell them to keep a close eye on things. If anything else happens, come report to me immediately. You may go."

Jiang Deqing bowed and withdrew.

Bairen frowned. After a long while, he said: "Even at a time like this, the Emperor hasn't lost his mind."

Qi Xiao chuckled lightly, "His body is broken, not his mind. Although the medicine can make one irritable, it won't make one foolish. He still has his wits about him. In the end, it was Consort Xue who was too hasty... She saw the Emperor reprimanding Qi Hua again and thought she had seized an opportunity, hastily administering the drug to make it seem like Qi Hua was taking revenge out of personal spite. Unfortunately, she was a bit too rushed, and many things appeared too deliberate. The Emperor is not stupid, naturally he could see through the trickery."

Bairen pursed his lips, "But he may not necessarily be certain that this is Consort Xue's ploy. After all, there's no evidence, and Consort Xue has been favored for so many years, surely she's not lacking in schemes. She definitely won't honestly admit guilt. The Emperor probably can't make up his mind, so he's temporarily not taking action. Your Highness... do you want to add fuel to the fire?"

Qi Xiao shook his head, "No need. Whether the Feng family or the Xue family gains the upper hand, it's not good for me. It's better to let them fight like this, let them both be unhappy, and make people on both sides more nervous. As for the rest... let's wait and see."

Bairen was still not resigned, "Such a great opportunity, and you're letting the Emperor brush it off so lightly?"

"How so?" Qi Xiao lowered his head and affectionately kissed Bairen's lips, whispering, "His own biological son is making such a fuss for the throne, even the most heartless person would be resentful. And he's still not sure which son did it. He was just startled, then angered, and afterwards his heart won't be at peace. For his illness, this is like adding frost to snow, so..."

Bairen had an epiphany and laughed softly, "So at this time, the drug dosage can be increased. He'll just think his condition worsened from anger and won't suspect anything else."

Qi Xiao smiled, "The prince is wise."

Bairen shook his head with a smile and said slowly in a low voice, "With these things happening one after another in the court, people are watching and can't help but lose faith in the Emperor. They feel it would be best for you to succeed the throne. This way, it would not only be righteous, but also what the people hope for.

"The Emperor himself should think it through clearly. If he insists on changing the crown prince before he dies, it will definitely cause turmoil in the court. He should understand what kind of people his few sons are. The people he himself can't even beat, how can he expect his son to carry on his legacy after ascending the throne and eliminate you for him?"

The more Bairen thought about it, the brighter the future seemed. He couldn't help but nestle into Qi Xiao's arms and whisper, "In the end, if the Emperor is not foolish, in order to preserve his sons and spare the imperial city from disaster, he will surely hand over the throne to you obediently."

Qi Xiao's heart stirred. He hesitated for a moment without speaking.

If he wasn't afraid of worrying Bairen, Qi Xiao actually really wanted to tell him that from the very beginning, he never intended to wait until the Emperor died to take the throne.

Back then, the Emperor snatched this throne from him. Now, he has to wait until the Emperor dies to have him return it? No, Qi Xiao would not be so spineless. Even if the Emperor's death was orchestrated by him, it's still not acceptable.

The purest bloodline of the Qi imperial clan has never been one to resign itself. Like Emperor Taizu, like Emperor Wu, Qi Xiao was born with a nature to plunder. What he sets his eyes on, what he wants, he has always gone to seize and snatch for himself. What others give, is never the best.

Say he's doing it for the sake of his pride, or say he's doing it to appease the spirits of Emperor Wu and Empress Xiaoxian in heaven, Qi Xiao had made up his mind from the moment he started administering the drug. In the final moment, he wants to make the Emperor hand over the throne to him unwillingly, resentfully, cursing him.

Let the Emperor experience clearly the pain of handing great power to someone else. Let him watch Qi Xiao ascend the dragon throne in imperial robes and crown. Let him watch Qi Xiao traverse the nine provinces, command the four seas, and enjoy the obeisance of hundreds of officials and the support of myriad citizens. Only then, can the revenge truly be considered complete.

Qi Xiao suppressed the constantly churning vicious thoughts in his heart and lowered his head to tenderly kiss Bairen. From now on, the imperial city will definitely become more and more chaotic, and the court will definitely become more and more tense. When things reach a critical point, he will send Bairen back to Lingnan early. After the great matter is accomplished, he will personally bring him back.

Qi Xiao looked down at Bairen's docile eyes with a faint smile in his heart. Bairen will understand him and listen to him.